On third and 10 from the Patriots 35, Tom Brady throws a 65-yard pass touchdown BOMB to Randy Moss to set a new NFL record with 50 TD passes for Brady and 23 TD catches for Moss. Brady breaks Peyton Manning’s record of 49 TD passes and Moss breaks Jerry Rice’s TD catch record of 22.

In what I thought would be a closer game, the UConn women destroyed Jen Rizzotti’s Hartford Hawks 70-24 in front of 14,581 at the XL Center on Saturday night. It was the first game of the year for the Huskies as the #1 team ranked in the country. The Hawks came into the game as the first team receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Leading the way for the Huskies was Maya Moore who scored 21 points and had 7 rebounds. Renee Montgomery added 12 points for the Huskies. Ketia Swainer added 8 points and Tina Charles pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Hawks were led by Jaime McCabe who scored 9 points. Erica Beverly added 6 points and 6 rebounds. Hartford’s leading score Danielle Hood was held to 5 points. She did pull down 6 boards.

Hartford (10-3) started out the first half by scoring the first 5 points of the game but it was all UConn after that. With the score tied at 8, the Huskies essentially put the game away with a 17-4 run led by Charde Houston and Moore. Hood scored the last basket of the half for the Hawks with just under 10 minutes to go as they were held without a field goal the rest of the 1st half.

It was more of the same in the second half as Hartford had no answers for UConn only scoring 7 points. Most of the UConn starters spent the last part of the 2nd half on the bench but were still too good for the Hawks.

UConn (10-0) will have a quick turnaround as they will face Army on Monday at 12 noon at the XL Center.

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On a 4 yard TD pass in the second quarter from Tom Brady to Randy Moss the New England Patriots set the single season scoring record with 561 points. Brady also tied the NFL record for TD passes with 49 and Moss tied the NFL record for TD catches with 22.

The Result

After spotting UConn a 10-0 lead, Wake Forest scored 24 unanswered points in the 2nd half to beat UConn 24-10 to win the Meineke Car Care Bowl in front of 53,126 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

Larry Taylor’s punt return got the Huskies on the scoreboard first and they would add a Tony Ciaravino field goal in the 2nd qtr to take the lead. However after that, it was all Wake Forest in the 2nd half.

Wake’s defense shut down UConn in the 2nd half allowing just 72 yards by UConn while scoring the 24 unanswered points. It was UConn’s poor 2nd half and one coaching decision by Randy Edsall that cost the Huskies the game.

UConn and Wake Forest both finish the season with identical 9-4 records.

Scoring Plays

1^st Quarter

CON – Larry Taylor 68-yard punt return – kick good – UConn 7-0

2^nd Quarter

CON – Tony Ciaravino 28-yard field goal – UConn 10-0

3^rd Quarter

WF – Josh Adams 38-yard run – kick good – UConn 10-7

WF – Skinner 20-yard pass to Tereshinski – WF 14-10

4^th Quarter

WF – Sam Swank 43-yard field goal – WF 17-10

WF – Micah Andrews 9-yard run – kick good – WF 24-10

Offensive Players of the Game

Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner was 29-38 for 267 yards. He threw 1 touchdown and had 1 interception. Wake RB Micah Andrews had 9 carries for 64 yards, all in the 2nd half, with a touchdown to help Wake ice the game.

Defensive Player of the Game

UConn’s Robert Vaughn had 8 tackles including 1 for a loss along with an interception.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

Wake Forest coming down to score on their first possession of the 2nd half taking the momentum out of UConn.

Randy Edsall deciding to go for it on 4th and 5 at Wake’s 40 when he could have pinned Wake deep in their half of the field. Lorenzen’s pass was incomplete.

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Top Ten Gifts Big Stein Wanted For Christmas [Yankees Chick]

Sox tattoo does in accused bank robber [Red Sox Monster]

Mark Schelerth Thinks He Can Ride A Dirt Bike, Mark Schelereth Was Wrong [Awful Announcing]

Wii Baseball Accident [Home Run Derby]

Inside the Mind of Curt Schilling [Center Field]

Yup, Reggie Bush is a Bit Embarrassed [The Big Lead]

‘07 Clipboards: Upset of the Year [Casey’s Clipboard & Wally’s World]

Patriots Fans, Forgive Me; Sen. Kerry is Good… [Oriole Post]

No, You Should Be A Yankees Fan [The Royal Rooters]

Merry Fitzmas, and Holiday Video Goodness, Galore! [Townie News]

Written by Steve Hofstetter, Keith Alberstadt, Adam Hofstetter, Cody Marley, Ryan Murphy, Elliot Steingart, and Chris Strait

The New York Yankees paid a $23.5 million luxury tax, directly to the Florida Marlins. The Marlins plan on using the money to compete with the Nationals for fourth place.

Barry Bonds appeared in court this week, wearing a suit with the biggest neck hole ever.

The Michigan State Spartans benched five players from the Champs Sports Bowl, due to various violations. Among the five were defensive standouts Jonal Saint-Dic and SirDarean Adams, who were benched for having silly names.

Speaking of silly names, in tennis, Dominik Hrbaty pulled out of the Australian Open, after injuring his elbow while trying to buy a vowel.

After a 9-16 start, the Bulls fired coach Scott Skiles. Hey New York Knicks: see how easy that was? In related news, the Miami Dolphins set their coach on fire.

Golfer Lorena Ochoa was selected the AP’s female athlete of the year for the second year in a row, narrowly edging out Alex Rodriguez. Tom Brady won the AP’s male athlete of the year, after impregnating half the judges.

And for the first time in four years, Michelle Wie did not receive one of the four sponsors exemptions to play in the Sony Open. This year, the tournament decided to give the exemptions to golfers.

For more of the Sports Minute (Or So), visit minuteorso.com

Jim Calhoun wanted to get in one road game to test his young Huskies before they get ready for Big East play next week. Well, he got his test tonight as his UConn Huskies survived the late run by the Central Florida Knights to win 85-82 in front of 6,224 fans at UCF Arena in Orlando. It was the largest crowd ever to watch a UCF basketball game.

Jerome Dyson led five Huskies in double figures with 23 points. Jeff Adrien just missed a double-double as he had 16 points and 9 rebounds. A.J. Price added 13 points and 5 assists while Doug Wiggins and Hasheem Thabeet rounded out the Huskies in double figures with 10 points each.

UCF (5-6) was led by Jermaine Taylor who had a game-high 30 points. Mike O’Donnell added 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point land. Dave Noel added 19 points for the Knights before fouling out late in the game.

It was a see-saw affair in the first half as neither team really could pull ahead by that much. UConn managed to pull ahead by seven points at 34-27 but only went into the locker room with a 2-point lead at 43-41.

UConn managed to get the lead to 11-points in the second half before UCF started to close in on the lead on the strength of their 3-point shooting. The Huskies were able to hold on at the end as they made most of their free throws and withstood the late charge.

The Huskies (9-2) were flat throughout the game at times and that might have been expected given the fact they hadn’t played in six days. Offensively they played pretty well and were able to push their style of play instead of UCF’s slow tempo game. Defensively, they weren’t at their best and were almost done in by UCF’s twelve 3-point shots made.

UConn is now off until next Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 when they head to Seton Hall at the Prudential Center in Newark in the Big East opener for both squads. The game will be shown on MyTV9 locally here in Connecticut.

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UConn men’s head basketball coach Jim Calhoun appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on December 27th to discuss his book, “A Passion to Lead: Seven Leadership Secrets for Success in Business, Sports, and Life” along with the UConn basketball program.

It was interesting to hear Calhoun talk about the differences between the programs across the nation, especially describing the differences between Duke and UNC.

Here is the interview for your enjoyment.

Here is a recap of what’s happened this week in As The Santana Turns.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that the Twins had lessened their demands with the Yankees and asked for Jeffery Marquez instead of Ian Kennedy.

The Yankees’ go-slow approach stems from their ambivalence over whether they want to keep Phil Hughes and a younger pitching prospect, Jeffrey Marquez, or have Santana pitch at the head of their rotation.

At one point, the Twins were said to be holding out for Hughes and Ian Kennedy, another of the Yankees’ attractive triumvirate of major league-ready young pitchers (the untouchable Joba Chamberlain being the third), but the Yankees wouldn’t give up both, so the Twins asked instead for Marquez, a 23-year-old right-hander.

Later Wednesday night, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that the Twins had talked to Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox before the holidays. Also in their discussions with the Yankees, Kei Igawa’s name had come up.

The Twins checked in with the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets just before everyone split for the holidays but nothing major appears to be heating up.

Yes, you just read the word Mets. Indications are that the Mets remain a viable destination for ace Johan Santana, and that the Twins like enough of their players that a deal could be worked out without shortstop Jose Reyes being part of the package.

Outfield prospects Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez have been mentioned in other reports as possible targets. Pitchers Mike Pelfrey, Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber are considered good prospects but it’s unclear how much the Twins like them. And, it’s unknown if there are any established players the Mets are willing to part with (Reyes and David Wright seem untouchable).

Also heard that, in some trade scenarios discussed with the Yankees, that lefthander Kei Igawa’s name has popped up. Igawa, 28, was 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA last season. There’s a belief that he needs to get out of New York to establish himself. And, of course, Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson isn’t afraid of such a project. It’s still believed that Phillip Hughes and Melky Cabrera would lead any package from the Yankees.

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Former Yankees World Series hero Jim Leyritz was arrested early Friday morning for DUI and vehicular homicide. He had been involved in a car crash in Ft. Lauderdale.

From the Miami Herald:

The jail website indicated Leyritz was charged with two counts of drunken driving, including DUI that causes death to a human. He had not posted an $11,000 bond as of Friday afternoon, records show.

A call to Fort Lauderdale police was not immediately returned. WPLG-ABC 10 reported a passenger in the car Leyritz allegedly hit was ejected from the car and died at the scene. The former baseball pro refused a sobriety test, the station reported, citing police.